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Bank Accounts
The Commission Processing module allows the user to easily set up single or multiple bank accounts for the payment of travel agent commissions. Since properties are often dealing with a great number of different travel agents and sources, the most convenient way for them to pay commissions is to work with multiple bank accounts. International chains/properties may work with several different bank accounts: one or more account for payment in the local currency and one or more accounts for payment in foreign currencies.
Besides commission payment using checks (CHK payment method), some accounts may be designated for electronic funds transfer commission payments (EFT payment method); and yet others may be used for central payment (CENT payment method) of commissions generated at several properties. In the central payment case, a data transfer from each property provides the necessary information for the central bank to handle actual commission payment, in check or EFT form.
Travel agent and source profiles are each associated with one or more bank accounts which handle commissions payment for that source/agent. (The bank account designated as the "default bank account" is used for paying commissions to agents and sources which do not have a bank account selected.)
Bank accounts can be set up in various ways, depending on how your organization processes commissions. Here are some of the most typical bank account configurations:
A separate bank account to handle commission processing in each currency. For example, a bank account for American Trust to handle US dollar payments and a bank account for Bank of Montreal to handle payments in Canadian dollars.
Multiple bank accounts to handle payments in a single currency. For example, American Trust and Bank of America each have a bank account configured in US dollars.
One bank account to process payments in multiple currencies. Set up multiple bank accounts for the same bank, with one bank account to handle payment in each currency. For example, if American Trust handles commission payments in US dollars and in Canadian dollars, set up two identical bank accounts, except for the currency. Although OPERA uses an internal numbering system to differentiate these bank accounts, it would be advisable to give each bank account a unique Bank Name (e.g., American Trust - USD, American Trust - CAD) to make it easy to identify the accounts when working in the Commissions module.
Also keep in mind that each bank account can have a language associated with it. This language may be used to determine the language for check printing. Thus, bank account language and bank account currency may both play a part in determining how you configure bank accounts as well as which account is associated with a particular travel agent or source profile.
Select Configuration>Commissions>Bank Accounts to configure and manage bank accounts. The Bank Account screen appears.
The following information is shown in the grid at the left side of the screen for each bank account:
X. An X in this column indicates that the bank account is the default bank account for the property. (See Default, below.)
Bank Name. Name assigned to the account.
Account Number. Bank account number.
Note: Changes to bank account configuration are recorded in the OPERA user activity log.
To add a new bank account, select the New button. To edit an existing bank account record, highlight your choice in the grid and select the Edit button. Provide the following information and select the OK button.
Bank Code. Unique code for this bank account.
Branch Code. Code for the branch of the bank. Must be unique for each Bank Code.
Bank Name. Name of the bank account.
Routing Number. Bank routing number.
Account Number. Account number held by your organization at the bank.
Payment Method. Select the down arrow to choose the type of payment that is associated with this bank account. Options are:
CHK - Commission payment by check.
CENT - Centrally paid commissions. This selection is essentially the same as CHK, but is provided as a separate option that can be used with central reservation systems where commissions are paid from a central bank account.
EFT - Electronic funds transfer. An export file is created by the commission payment process. EFT file formats can vary, depending on the clearinghouse used by the bank. EFT is available with one of the following add-on license codes:
Note: If a bank account has commissions existing against it, then the payment method cannot be changed and the user will receive the message "The Payment Method cannot be changed, there are commission records existing. Please create a new Bank Account for the new Payment Method."
Format. Select the down arrow to choose the check format to be used to print checks for this bank account. Check formats are set up in Reports configuration (Configuration>Setup>Reports Setup. Select Commission Check report type.)
Next Check Number. Next available check number in the series of checks. This number will be automatically updated each time commissions payments are processed and checks are printed.
Min. Processing Amt. Minimum amount of the commission for a travel agent/source before a commission payment is processed. This is useful if you want to make sure you do not produce a check every time a commission is due but only after a reasonable commission amount has been accumulated.
Edit Check Number. Select this check box to allow users to change the check numbers for this account. Unselect this check box to prevent users from editing check numbers once they are assigned (this is the default).
1099 Report. When the General>1099 Reporting application parameter is set to Y and the Country for the property configuration is set to US, this check box is available. Select this check box to include commission payments made through this bank on 1099 reports. See 1099 Reporting for details.
Currency. When the Cashiering>Foreign Currency Handling application function is set to Y, select the down arrow to choose the appropriate currency to be associated with this account. The same currency may be associated with more than one bank account.
Check Stub Lines. The number entered here is the number of printable lines (top to bottom) on the check stub. The check stub is always displayed above the check. The number entered here should match the number set by the Maximum Records Per Page value you set when you customized the sample_checkusd.rep. The default maximum records per page for the sample_checkusd report is 18. (See Customizing Reports for details.)
Language. Select the down arrow to choose the language for this bank account. Your selection determines the language used to write amounts in words on checks when the General>Profile Language application function is set to Y. If no language is selected here, the base language for the property becomes the default.
Source Import Directory. When the Commission>Commission Reconciliation Import application parameter is set to Y, file pathway to the source of the import directory. For example, the pathway to where the bank would be storing the directory on their local computer/server/database.
Target Import Directory. When the Commission>Commission Reconciliation Import application parameter set to Y, file pathway to where the import directory should be stored on your local computer/server/database. This will be where the directory is stored when it is imported from the bank.
Validate IATA Number. Select this check box to ensure that the travel agent/source profile associated with a commission payment has a valid IATA number. If this check box is selected, a commission check will not be processed for an agent/source if the IATA number is missing or invalid.
Positive Pay Export. Available when the Commissions>Positive Pay Check Export application parameter is set to Y. Select this check box so the bank will have the option to use the Positive Pay Export functionality. The Positive Pay Export identifies to the bank all of the Travel Agent Commission checks that have been processed by OPERA and can be paid out to the agent by the bank. (See Positive Pay Checks for details)
Default. Select this check box if this bank account is to be the default in case no bank account is associated with the travel agent or source. A default bank account must be configured for a property and only one bank account can be selected as the default. An X appears in the X column for the default bank account.
Default for Currency. When an active OXI Interface is present, this option provides the ability to configure a default bank account per currency/resort and to link that bank account with the profile for commission processing when OXI inserts a commission code in an OPERA profile.
See Also
